Portable seamless continuous trough for liquid and support therefor



y 1969 E. s. ROBBINS. JR 3,446,325

PORTABLE SEAMLESS CONTINUOUS TROUGH FOR LIQUID AND SUPPORT THEREFOR Filed July 51, 1967 i 1 A 2 i/" 2.5,

24 B) 2;: L M R United States Patent O 3,446,325 PORTABLE SEAMLESS CONTINUOUS TROUGH FOR LIQUID AND SUPPORT THEREFOR Edward S. Robbins, Jr., 600 N. Cave St., Tuscumbia, Ala. 35674 Filed July 31, 1967, Ser. No. 657,220 Int. Cl. B65g 11/10; A01k /00 US. Cl. 193-25 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention-The invention relates to troughs used for watering poultry, livestock, irrigation and for other purposes.

Description of the prior art.Efiort has been made to produce a poultry watering trough shaped from a plurality of flexible strips and with an end closure also serving as a discharge for the water. Such a disclosure is found in Patent 2,828,717. However devices of this kind have been complicated, expensive, unsanitary and subject to leakage, particularly because of being formed from a combination of materials such as rubber, plastic, and metals having different rates of expansion and contraction readily causing rupturing of the cemented longitudinal joints as well as warping and otherwise rendering the trough useless. Also troughs of ths kind have not been reversible and of sufiicient stiffness to be self-sustaining and yet be rolled up when not in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a simple, portable, seamless, relatively long trough produced from a continuous strip of the desired dimensions and stiffness to be self-sustaining, and with reduced areas to facilitate extrusion in the fiat and bent into a desired shape for containing liquid or solid material therein, and capable of being produced in a continuous strip which, when not in use, can be contained in a roll and unrolled and bent into shape for use, as well as end closure members with orifices for drainage and suitable supports and a trough capable of being easily and quickly installed and disassembled.

It is an object of the invention to provide a simple, relatively inexpensive trough which is seamless thereby avoiding leakage and harboring of bacteria, and snfiiciently stiff to be self-sustaining but permitting it to be coiled into a roll when not in use, as well as including a fitted end closure or cap, and which trough is portable, durable and reversible.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the trough may be supported in a fixed position and including a hanger or suspension member having a suspension portion by which it may be mounted, and hook means or a trough-engaging portion of a character to support the trough and retain the shape of the same, and with a locking or bridging member which will fit about the fixed support.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a roll of trough-forming strip;

FIG. 2, a transverse section on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3, a perspective of a combination cap or end closure and drainage member;

FIG. 4, a perspective of a hanger and a locking member;

FIG. 5, a perspective illustrating a trough formed from the strip of FIG. 1 with the end closure or cap of FIG. 3 applied and the trough supported by the hanger and locking means of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6, a transverse section on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7, a fragmentary modified form of trough strip;

FIG. 8, a complementary end closure or cap and drainage member;

FIG. 9, a view similar to that FIG. 5 with the strip converted into a trough;

FIG. 10, a horizontal section on the line 10-10 of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11, a further modified form of a trough-forming strip of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With continued reference to the drawing, the trough of the present invention may include a strip 10 in the form of a roll 11 when not in use, and unrolled when it is desired to use the same. The strip 11 is provided with upper and lower grooves 12 and 13 to facilitate reversibly folding, and the strip is provided near its end with a drainage opening 14. The strip may be formed in any desired mannor as, for example, from an extruded plastic or material having sufiicient stillness to be self-sustaining yet allowing the sides to be disposed in angular relation such as that, for example, indicated in FIG. 5.

A cap or end closure 15 may be provided having a dis charge 16 so that when the end cap or closure is applied, the opening 14 will be in registration with the discharge tube 16.

The trough thus formed may be supported in any desired manner as, for example, by means of a hanger having an upper or suspension portion 17 and a lower or hook portion 18 of a shape to retain the side walls of the trough in fixed upwardly open relation.

In order to mount the hanger, a locking member 19 may be provided having openings 20 in which the shank or suspension portion 17 is received and between which locking member and the shank or suspension portion, the bars 21 of a fence may be bridged and thus retained with the trough supported in the desired fixed position on the fence.

It will be apparent that due to the opposed grooves 12 and 13, the strip 10 may be readily bent along such grooved portion in either direction to provide a trough as illustrated in FIG. 5. When the cap 15 is fitted to the end of the trough, the hook portion of the hanger 17 engaged about the trough, and the bridging member 19 applied about the rails 21 of the fence, the trough will be firmly secured in fixed position on the fence.

Instead of a triangular upwardly open trough, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, a generally rectangular upwardly open trough may be produced by utilizing a strip 10 having opposed grooves 12 and 13 and a drainage opening 14. This will permit the folding of the strip in either direction to the position illustrated in FIG. 9 in which the two side portions of the strip will be in generally parallel relation, connected by an intermediate portion of the strip forming the bottom of the trough. Also, instead of the triangular cap 15, a generally rectangular cap 15' is employed having a drainage tube 16'. A hanger 17 with a hook portion 18' of generally rectangular configuration replaces the hanger of FIGS. 4, 5, and 6; otherwise, the

constructions of FIGS. 5 and 9 are generally the same.

Instead of the strip 11 of uniform thickness having grooves 12 and 13 on both sides, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a strip 22 as seen in FIG. 11 is provided having one surface 23 relatively flat throughout its width and its opposite side 24 tapering to an increased thickness 25 toward the center from a feathered edge 26 and to a reduced or grooved area 27 in the center. When the feathered edges 26 are angled upward toward one another as seen in dot dash lines 28 and 29 in FIG. 11, a smooth curved area in the center of the apex 30 will result causing a clean smooth inner surface throughout the length of the trough formed therefrom.

It will be readily apparent from the foregoing that a simple, seamless, relatively inexpensive, portable trough is provided, as well as a hanger and locking means by which the trough may be easily supported upon or suspended from a fence and locked in place thereon, while at the same time the hanger will assist in maintaining the trough in shape. Further, the material used may be vinyl plastic or other substance sufficiently flexible to enable it to be formed from a fiat strip and held in a particular shape until it is desired to roll the strip, whereupon it can be disassembled, rolled, transported and stored.

'It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawing and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the accompany claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A trough comprising a stiff seamless plastic stri of a character to be disposed in rolled or unrolled condition, said strip being longitudinally grooved in a manner to obviate shoulders and to allow the folding of the sides of the strip towards each other to form a trough, said strip being of uniform thickness in other than the grooved area and of sufficient stiffness when folded to be capable of being supported in spaced locations.

2. The trough of claim 1 including a cap of a character to be fitted to the end of said trough and provide a closure and a shape retaining member for said trough.

3. The trough of claim 1 including support means therefor of a character to support said trough and to resist change of shape thereof.

4. The trough of claim 1 including support means therefor of a character to support said trough and to resist change of shape thereof, and locking means for securing said support means in fixed position.

5. The trough of claim 1 including support means therefor of a character to support said trough and to resist change of shape thereof, and locking means for securing said support means in fixed position, said support means including a hanger, and said locking means including a member applicable to said hanger and adapted to attach said trough to said hanger.

6. The trough of claim 1 including support means having a suspension portion and a complementary trough engaging portion of a character to resist change of shape of said trough.

7. The trough of claim 1 including support means having a suspension portion and a complementary trough engaging portion of a character to resist change of shape of said trough, and a bridging member of a character to attach to said suspension portion and fit about a fixed support.

8. The trough of claim 1 including hanger means providing hook means on one end and a supporting shaft extending therefrom.

9. A trough as defined in claim 1 in which the grooving of the trough is on opposite faces allowing reversibility and the use of either face on the inside of the trough.

10. A trough as defined in claim 1 in which the trough is provided with multiple longitudinal grooves.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,828,717 4/1958 Mikkelsen ll96l 3,285,227 11/1966 Mitchell 1972 ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 1196l 

